Waterbury evening Democrat., 1887-12-07

death for every one of us; and the people of the other train would not have fared much better.
 Our fireman, J. A. Wilson, very graph ically describes this fearful effort to con quer time:
 '.Our locomotive was under full head of steam. The engineer stood with his hand on the lever, with the valve wide open It was frightful to see how the powerful iron monster under us would leap forward under the revolutions of her great wheels. Brown would scream to me ever and anon, Give her more wood, Alf,' which command was promptly obeyed. She rocked and reeled like 8 drunken man, while we tumbled from side to side like grains of popcorn in a hot frying pan. It was bewildering to look at the ground or objects on the roadside. A constant stream of fire ran from the great wheels, and to this day shudder as re- fleet on that, my first and last locomotive ride. We sped past houses, stations and fields and out of sight. almost like a meteor, while the bystanders, who scarce ly caught glimpse of us as we passed, looked on as if in both fear and amaze ment It has always been a wonder to me that our locomotive and cars kept the track at all, or how they could possibly stay on the track. At times the iron horse seemed literally to fly over the course, the driving wheels of one side being lifted from the rails much of the distance over which we now sped with a velocity fearful to contemplate. We took little thought of the matter then"
 Andrews kept his watch in his hand, seeming to notice nothing else, for time was the only element in this part of our problem, and he and Knight, who looked on the same watch, always joined in declaring that the interval of nine miles between the two stations was run in seven and a half minutes; and this not upon magnificent road with steel rails, as that road is today, but over poor and neglected track! It must, in candor, however, be allowed that Andrews probably reckoned the interval from losing sight of Adairsville until coming in sight of Calhoun. When near the two stations he would be otherwise engaged, and thus the rate may have been little over mile minute-surely enough for all the fear, wonder and sublimity of motion!
 Our escape on this run was exceedingly narrow. The passenger train had begun to move cut before we arrived, but it had only just got under way while we were slackcning up for the station. A minute earlier in their starting would have ended the raid But seeing us coming, and our whistle sounding out loud and peremp- tory, they lacked before us up the track, and the proper officer obligingly opened the switch to let us on the side track. Of course this was done as much in the in- tercst of the passenger train, which could not go cu till we were out of the way, as in ours.
 But they did not go on for some time and we were obliged to await their move ments. In backing they had gone far enough, not only to give us room on the side track but also, as their train was a long one, to completely block the far end of it, and we could not proceed on the main track until they should pull ahead Before doing this they naturally wanted some explanation. The lateness of the regular train; our having Fuliar's engine, without him or any of his men; and not least, the manner in which we had swooped down upon them like some beast of prey, coming without any signal man ahead at time when under railroad rules they were entitled to the road-all this, 1 which only some most urgent occasion or public calamity could excuse, called for explanation. Andrews calmly told his 1 story, and the urgent need of ammunition l was felt to justify everything; and all the questions were asked and answered that l are common among railroad men on meet ing. Yet Andrews would have talked | little and would have made a very short stop, had it not been for the manner in which the passenger train bound in hi own. We had a good right to be uneas 1 here, for we had not cut the wires between 1 this station and Adairsville because w
 had not dared, in the terrible urgency o reaching Calhoun, to delay even for thi | purpose. A question might come on tn wires at any moment which Andrews
 with all his adroitness, would not find easy to answer. Neither had we put an
 Instructions on the track. This latte
 omission prepared the way for anothe
 race against time, only less swift and fear
 full than our own.
 Thus we were again delayed. Andrew
 tried gentle and indirect means to per
 suade the conductor of the passenger trail
 that it as perfectly safe for him to rul | down and get to Adairsville before Full
 ler's passenger train. But he was no
 easily persuaded. The bare escape iron
 collision with our train had shaken hi
 nerves too much for him to wish at on
 to repeat the experience. Neither did h
 seem at all in hurry to move his trai
 ahead and let us out on the main track
 but as his train was the only obstacle,
 would not have been long, had he contin
 ued obstinate, until the reserve force c
 our party would have been brought int
 requisition. It may be said here that An
 drews was perfectly sincere in telling hin
 that there would be abundant timo fo
 him to reach Adairsville before Fulle
 with his train would be along. We di
 not think that Fuller would be alon
 that day, and with his own train he wa
 not. But as matters were, if the Calhoun
 man had allowed himself to be persuade
 to start southward, fearful collision
 would have ended all possibilities of pur
 suit, and left us free to burn bridges a
 our leisure. Here was another of the mar
 row escapes made by the enemy. To un
 derstand this it is necessary to recur t
 Fuller and Murphy, who were within tw
 or three minutes of Kingston when W
 left that place.
 They were terribly disappointed whel
 they found themselves stopped quite
 long distance below Kingston by thre
 heavy freight trains, and learned in
 brief conversation with the engineer o
 the nearest, and the persons who had rul
 down that way on hearing their whistle T 1,oI 1,oa